ADAPTATION  OF  THE  PENN  SCHOOL 
METHODS  TO  EDUCATION  IN  SOUTI 

AFRICA  •  BY  DR.  CHARLES  T.  LORAM 

- - 

MEMBER  OF  THE  NATIVE  AFFAIRS  CCMMiSSION 
OF  THE  UNION  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA  •  FORMERLY 
INSPECTOR  OF  NATIVE  EDUCATION  IN  NATAL 


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PUBLISHED  BY  THE  PHELPS-STOKES  FUND 
i o i  PARK  AVE  •  NEW  YORK  CITY  •  APRIL  1927 


•  V;  y  r;  /.  RS*  •’  r"  ; 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Columbia  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/adaptationofpennOOIora 


NATIVE  AFFAIRS  COMMISSION 
PRETORIA  •  UNION  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA 
TO  MT  COLLEAGUES  IN  AFRICAN  EDUCATION: 

THE  SCHOOL  AS  SOCIAL  CENTRE 

ABOUT  the  middle  of  October,  1926,  I  had  the 
f-\  pleasure  of  spending  a  few  days  at  Penn  Nor- 
-L  JC  mal,  Industrial  and  Agricultural  School  on  St. 
Helena  Island,  Beaufort  County,  South  Carolina.  I  had 
not  been  there  very  long  before  I  saw  that  this  was  the 
school  which,  more  than  any  other  I  had  seen,  exempli¬ 
fied  my  ideal  for  African  education,  with  the  school  as 
the  centre  and  chief  factor  of  village  development.  I 
was  delighted  when  I  learned  that  Miss  Rossa  B. 
Cooley,  the  Principal  of  the  School,  had  written  a 
charming  account  of  the  work  of  Penn  School  which 
had  been  published  under  the  attractive  title  T he 
Homes  of  the  Freed. 

Knowing  from  experience  how  anxious  African  edu¬ 
cators  are  to  improve  their  schools  and  how  competent 
they  are  to  act  upon  suggestions,  I  approached  those 
good  friends  of  Africa,  the  Phelps-Stokes  Fund,  and 
asked  them  to  help  us  again  by  distributing  a  number  of 
copies  of  these  books  in  Africa.  Not  only  did  Dr.  Phelps 
Stokes  and  Dr.  Jesse  Jones  agree  at  once  but  they  de¬ 
cided  to  distribute  along  with  this  volume  certain  books 
on  allied  subjects,  and  asked  me  to  write  a  short  account 
of  the  possible  application  of  the  lines  of  work  in  the 
Penn  School  to  African  schools. 

I  found  this  a  more  difficult  task  than  I  had  antici¬ 
pated  for  there  is  really  no  Penn  “system”  of  education. 
There  is  at  St.  Helena  Island  a  full  appreciation  of  the 
social  values  of  education  and  an  atmosphere  of  sincere 
but  simple  Christian  cooperation,  but  there  is  no  techni¬ 
cal  method  which  can  be  easily  translated  from  America 
to  Africa.  The  book  with  its  wonderful  story,  delight¬ 
fully  told,  will  have  its  influence  on  all  readers.  In  com¬ 
menting  upon  it  I  feel  like  one  who  tries  to  paint  the 
lily.  However,  a  promise  is  a  promise  and  must  be  kept. 


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Some  Comparison  of  Conditions 

Before  attempting  to  say  how  far  the  Penn  outlook 
on  education  and  the  Penn  methods  of  approach  are  ap¬ 
plicable  to  African  conditions,  it  seems  necessary  to 
make  clear  certain  similarities  and  unlikenesses  in  the 
conditions  which  obtain  in  the  two  continents. 

The  first  difference  is,  I  think,  that  the  Negroes  of 
America  are  Christians,  inured  to  regular  work,  accus¬ 
tomed  to  daily  and  even  hourly  contact  with  the  white 
man,  owners  or  renters  of  their  own  clearly  defined  por¬ 
tions  of  land,  and  individualistic  in  their  social  life. 
Conditions  generally  in  Africa  at  present  are,  I  suppose, 
the  exact  opposite  of  these.  But  it  is  important  to  re¬ 
member  that  there  are  already  in  many  parts  of  Africa 
localities  where  two  or  three  generations  of  Christian 
civilised  Africans  have  produced  conditions  not  unlike 
those  of  St.  Helena  Island.  It  would  be  easier  and  more 
economical  of  effort  to  begin  to  work  on  Penn  lines  in 
these  communities  first. 

A  second  difference  which  may  make  the  Penn  system 
difficult  of  transplantation  to  Africa  is  the  tendency  on 
the  part  of  the  controllers  of  education  in  some  parts  of 
the  continent,  be  they  Government  or  Mission  Council, 
to  prevent  or  hamper  new  and  individualistic  work  by 
hard  and  fast  restrictions  and  regulations.  It  would,  for 
example,  be  difficult  to  conduct  a  “Penn  School  for  all 
Ages”  in  a  country  where  pupils  over  sixteen  years  of 
age  are  not  admitted  to  the  primary  school.  Further, 
head  teachers,  where  compelled  to  work  to  and  to  be 
examined  on  departmental  syllabuses  and  time  tables, 
will  not  dare  to  set  their  pupils  to  work  on  the  “Home 
Acre”  or  take  them  to  a  village  “Clean-up  Week.”  One 
remembers  in  this  connection  the  excuse  given  by  the 
Native  girls  who  left  their  dormitory  in  an  untidy  con¬ 
dition:  They  had  no  time  to  clean  up  because  they  had 
to  go  to  their  hygiene  lesson!  It  will,  however,  be  found 
that  Government  Departments  and  controlling  Mission 
Boards  are  susceptible  to  reason  (though  this  is  denied 
by  some)  and  that  permission  to  do  the  kind  of  work 
attempted  at  Penn  School  can  generally  be  obtained. 

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Long  experience  of  the  ways  of  Governments  and  Mis¬ 
sion  Boards  suggests  that  permission  for  the  experiment 
be  obtained  beforehand  and  that  the  proposals  submitted 
be  made  to  look  as  much  like  a  syllabus  as  possible! 

A  third  feature  which  has  helped  in  the  success  of 
Penn  School  is  the  fact  that  the  principals  are  women  of 
breeding  and  culture,  trained  by  the  great  and  good 
Frissell  of  Hampton,  and  loved,  befriended,  and  helped 
by  some  of  the  choicest  spirits  in  the  United  States.  The 
elements  for  all  this  helpful  support  are  with  us  in 
Africa  also,  though  not  yet  to  the  same  degree  as  at 
Penn.  We  can,  however,  emulate  the  Penn  School  mid¬ 
wives  and  improve  ourselves  by  study,  practice  and 
prayer.  Luckily  for  us,  the  Vacation  Course  or  Summer 
School  is  becoming  a  feature  of  the  work  of  African 
Departments  of  Education.  Mission  Councils  or  Boards 
could  help  us  all  by  making  it  possible  for  their  teachers, 
white  as  well  as  black,  to  attend  these  schools.  It  is  only 
the  teacher  in  the  outstation  who  knows  fully  the  down¬ 
ward  pull  of  the  African  environment  and  the  need  for 
help  and  inspiration  such  as  the  Vocation  Course  can 
give. 

In  attempting  to  apply  the  Penn  or  any  other  “sys¬ 
tem”  of  education  to  Africa,  we  need  to  remember  that 
“the  letter  killeth  but  the  spirit  giveth  life.”  Some,  per¬ 
haps  many,  of  the  conditions  so  graphically  described 
by  Miss  Cooley  do  not  apply  to  Africa  as  we  know  it 
today.  But  it  will  be  recognized  that,  mutatis  mutandis , 
the  work  of  the  Penn  School  as  set  out  both  in  Miss 
Cooley’s  book  and  in  the  school  report  can  afford  us 
many  suggestions  for  our  work  in  Africa.  Some  of  these 
may  be  named. 

Suggestions  Applicable  to  Africa 

(i)  The  work  of  Penn  School  is  in  daily  and  even 
hourly  touch  with  the  life  of  the  island  community. 
That  this  is  the  case  can  be  seen  at  once  by  reference  to 
page  1 6  of  the  report,  A  Rural  Experiment ,  sent  with 
this  letter.  There  will  be  found  an  account  of  twenty- 
eight  committees  which  bind  the  school  to  the  life  of  the 


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community.  It  will  easily  be  seen  how  real  the  school 
lessons  on  nature  study  and  elementary  agriculture  are 
when  part  of  the  teaching  of  these  subjects  is  done  at  the 
homes  of  the  pupils.  Domestic  science  and  hygiene  les¬ 
sons  take  on  a  new  significance  when  the  bigger  girls 
prepare  and  cook  the  midday  meal  for  the  day  pupils 
and  when  the  teachers  and  pupils  organise  and  carry  out 
a  “Clean-up  Week”  in  the  neighbouring  village.  Home 
making  becomes  much  more  than  a  text  book  matter 
when  in  these  school  grounds  there  is  a  “Better  Home” 
managed,  and  at  times  lived  in,  by  the  pupils  of  the 
school. 

I  know  of  native  institutions  so  fortunately  situated 
that  every  one  of  the  twenty-eight  Penn  activities  could 
be  carried  out.  I  do  not  know  of  a  single  school  where 
some  at  least  of  these  community  activities  cannot  be  put 
into  practice  if  the  teachers  believe  sufficiently  in  them. 

I  suppose  it  is  because  of  European  tradition  that  so 
many  of  our  schoolhouses  are  more  or  less  isolated 
units,  situated  far  from  the  centres  of  village  activity 
and  open  only  for  a  few  hours  a  day.  And  some  of  our 
teachers  are  “nine  o’clock  to  three”  men  and  women, 
who  grumble  if  called  upon  to  do  anything  more  than 
classroom  teaching.  “The  worst  of  this  place,”  said  the 
principal  of  one  of  the  most  “successful”  (from  the 
examination  result  standpoint)  institutions  in  Africa,  “is 
that  the  ignorant  villagers  so  often  bother  us  with  re¬ 
quests  for  help  that  we  cannot  get  on  with  our  work.” 
“Thank  God  for  the  influenza  epidemic  of  1918,”  said 
another  with  a  wider  outlook,  “for  it  was  in  visiting  the 
homes  of  the  stricken  people  that  our  pupils  first  learned 
the  real  meaning  of  community  service.” 

(2)  Penn  is  primarily  a  day  school  although  boarders 
are  taken.  T here  is  a  daily  relationship  between  the  school 
and  the  homes  of  the  pupils.  In  Africa,  the  tendency  is 
still  to  make  all  but  the  most  elementary  schools  board¬ 
ing  institutions.  The  reasons  are,  of  course,  obvious.  The 
gap  between  life  at  the  Christian  school  with  all  it  stands 
for,  and  life  at  the  heathen  home  with  all  it  entails,  is 
too  great  to  be  bridged.  If  the  young  plant  is  to  develop 

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it  has  to  be  transplanted.  It  may  be,  however,  that  we 
have  regarded  the  gap  as  greater  than  it  really  is.  It  may 
be  that  there  are  some  things  in  the  heathen  home  life 
that  we  should  do  well  to  cherish.  In  any  case,  if  we  are 
to  make  the  idea  of  community  service  a  working  reality 
it  seems  desirable  to  admit  day  pupils  to  our  boarding 
schools  and  to  develop  the  day  school  plan  as  soon  as 
possible. 

(3)  How  can  we  develop  sympathetic  relations  be¬ 
tween  the  community  and  our  African  schools?  First,  by 
the  location  of  our  schools  in  the  centres  of  population. 
Let  us  so  plan  that  there  may  be  a  classroom  in  every 
school  or  a  hut  which  may  also  be  used  as  a  meeting 
room  and  a  kitchen  for  sewing  and  cooking. 

In  the  second  place,  let  us  train  our  teachers  to  in¬ 
clude  the  life  of  the  community  in  their  ideals,  both  in 
our  normal  schools  and  in  Vacation  Courses.  If  possible, 
let  the  teachers  be  of  the  same  tribe  and  language  as  the 
children  they  teach.  Require  them  to  live  in  the  villages 
where  their  schools  are  located,  and  teach  them  to  re¬ 
gard  themselves  as  shepherds  and  not  as  hirelings.  Give 
them  a  status  and  a  responsibility  in  the  Mission  Coun¬ 
cils  and  let  them  regard  themselves  really  as  co-workers 
with  the  missionary. 

Thirdly,  let  the  curriculum  be  set  up  after  a  survey 
of  the  immediate  needs  of  the  people.  Let  not  European 
tradition  dominate  too  much.  Which  is  really  more  im¬ 
portant  in  the  African  villages  today — practical  hygiene 
or  the  ability  to  read?  Elementary  agriculture  or  geog¬ 
raphy?  Wise  recreation  or  arithmetic?  No  one  can  dog¬ 
matise  on  these  points.  Procure  a  copy  of  Dr.  Jesse 
Jones’  wise  little  book  on  The  Four  Essentials  of  Edu¬ 
cation  and  apply  those  world-wide  principles  to  the 
school  situation  in  your  midst. 

Encourage  in  every  way  the  interest  and  cooperation 
of  the  parents  of  your  children.  Tolerate  and  even  en¬ 
courage  the  gaping  visitor  to  your  school.  Create  school 
committees  including  the  missionary,  the  parents  and 
the  teacher.  Make  use  of  a  generous  emulation ;  give  a 
flag  to  the  school  with  the  cleanest  village,  another  to 

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the  school  with  the  best  home  gardens,  and  so  on.  Do 
not  neglect  regular  and  sympathetic  supervision — the 
very  life  blood  of  schools  and  especially  of  community 
schools. 

(4)  Penn  has  a  host  of  wise  and  generous  friends.  I 
met  Miss  Cooley  first  at  a  fashionable  summer  resort — 
the  guest  of  a  man  honoured  throughout  the  States. 
Here  she  was  making  friends  for  her  school.  Look  at 
page  58  of  the  report.  Take  a  single  item,  “Income  Con¬ 
tributions  for  general  purposes,  $21,143.32.”  Again,  on 
page  60,  “Special  Donations  received  towards  lifting  of 
debt,  $14,400.00.”  Look  at  the  buildings  and  the  equip¬ 
ment. 

I  doubt  if  we  African  educators  do  all  we  could  to 
make  friends  for  our  work.  Perhaps  we  are  more  shy 
than  Americans — perhaps  we  have  not  such  faith  in  our¬ 
selves  and  our  work.  I  doubt  if  we  do  all  we  could  to 
enlist  the  help  of  the  native  chief,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  European  trader  and  settler.  Why  not  let  one  or  two 
of  our  trained  girls  help  the  settler’s  wife  in  the  kitchen 
or  nursery,  and  encourage  our  young  men  to  work  on 
the  settler’s  plantation,  provided  we  are  satisfied  regard¬ 
ing  the  moral  and  material  result?  Let  us  not  hold  our¬ 
selves  too  aloof  from  the  settler  and  the  trader. 

Finally,  do  we  present  our  work  to  the  world  at  large 
in  the  best  way?  The  reports  of  the  Phelps-Stokes  Com¬ 
missions  show  what  splendid  work  is  being  done,  and 
yet  I  doubt  if  Africa  has  published  anything  so  attrac¬ 
tive  as  The  Homes  of  the  Freed  or  A  Rural  School  Ex¬ 
periment.  It  is  not  a  case  of  boasting.  There  is  not  a  trace 
of  that  in  either  of  these  volumes.  If,  as  I  believe,  there 
is  a  moral  obligation  to  be  intelligent  I  see  no  reason 
why  we  should  not  try  this  way  among  others  to  win 
friends  for  our  work  in  Africa. 

C.  T.  LORAM. 


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